A Feudal Ghost Tale
by Sango Hikari
Summary: [BleachxInuYasha crossover] Strange creatures have been showing up lately in the Feudal Era. Stranger things happen when Soul Society sends some select Shinigami to deal with them. [Pairings inside] Chapter four: Recovery and Alliance
1. Enter the Shinigami

Welcome to my InuyashaxBleach crossover! I've been seeing a lot of NarutoxBleach crossovers lately, so I decided to try something different! Hope you like it! And yes, I know the title is totally cheesy. Also, the pairings I have so far are listed below; however, more ideas for couples are always welcome! There's only one requirement: the two have to be from the different shows. So request away! I still need someone to pair InuYasha with…

**Title: **A Feudal Ghost Tale

**Summary: **Strange creatures have been showing up lately in the Feudal Era. Stranger things happen when Soul Society sends some select Shinigami to deal with them.

**Rating:** Teen for language and mild sexual themes

**Pairings:** Hitsugaya/Sango, Rukia/Miroku, Ichigo/Kagome???/Inuyasha

**Warning:** May contain spoilers up to current Bleach episodes and/or slight manga spoilers.

**Disclaimer:** I own neither InuYasha or Bleach, or the respective characters.

* * *

"Sankon Tessou!"

Bright glowing claws came down upon the creature, causing the white mask it wore to shatter. The attacker landed swiftly on the ground, panting slightly. He wore a red kimono, with a sword attached at the waist. He flexed his fingers, which had large claws where his fingernails should be; he also had small ears embedded in his long, silver hair. "Damn it, that's the fifth one today!" he said, showing the pair of fangs hidden within his mouth.

"Are you alright, InuYasha?" A girl wearing a green school uniform asked, running over to him. The hanyou nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, Kagome," he replied. The two turned to look at their other friends: Miroku, the perverted monk; Sango, the demon slayer; and Shippo, the small fox demon. Inuyasha sighed. "So many of those weird things have been appearing lately; it's getting annoying."

"Their appearances have been becoming more frequent," Miroku agreed. "We were lucky that was a weak one. The ones we fought earlier were much stronger, and couldn't be defeated as quickly."

"These creatures certainly are fearsome opponents," Sango said, bending down to pet her small feline companion, Kirara. The demon cat's two tails brushed softly against the Taijiya's hands as she mewed softly. "My Hiraikotsu isn't even effective against the stronger ones." She adjusted the giant boomerang on her back for emphasis.

"They're fast as well," Miroku added. "They move so quickly that I can't catch them with my Kazaana." He glanced down at his right hand, where the void was covered and sealed with special beads.

"I just wish we knew where those things were coming from," InuYasha said. The group had decided to take a break from their journey, and was now resting on some rocks next to a river. "They're a lot different from your normal demons. Not to mention they all have those freaky white masks." He sighed. "We don't have time to be fighting those damn things! We need to work on finding the jewel shards; we can't be playing around with monsters that no one else can even see!"

It was true. Every time they happened upon one of the strange creatures, no one else in the immediate area could see it; aside from various monks and priestesses, that is. It seemed as though those with high spiritual energy could see them while ordinary bystanders could not. Not that seeing them did much good; most people that tried to fight them were immediately killed. No, the ordinary sutras and such used to slay demons wouldn't work on the strange beasts.

Demons could see them as well. From time to time, they would come across one of the creatures only to find it already in battle. In most cases, the demons lost, but in some cases the more powerful ones would prevail; that was usually the case when their opponent happened to be one of the weaker ones. The group had yet to figure out why the demons were able to see them, but figured it had something to do with their demonic power, or other force they possessed that humans did not.

Then, there were those like Sango, who weren't demons and didn't possess much, if any, spiritual power. Those who practiced in the art of demon slaying, while very strong against their normal opponents, simply did not possess the necessary energy to see the strange new creatures. Sango, however, coming from the village where the Shikon Jewel had been born and being around the collected shards for so long, had somewhat developed the required abilities. Still, she could only see the very weak ones clearly; most appeared blurry or indistinct, while some, usually the more powerful ones, she could hardly see at all.

Each of her companions, however, already had the necessary powers: Kagome was a priestess; Miroku a monk; and Shippo a full-fledged demon. InuYasha, while being merely a half-demon, still possessed demon blood strong enough to allow him to see even the stronger of the creatures. Thus, Kagome had deemed it their job to rid the world of the creatures. This was much easier said than done, however; no matter how many they defeated, there were many more to take its place. This explained InuYasha's reluctance to fight them.

"But just because people can't see them doesn't mean they can't get hurt," Kagome protested. "Since we _can_ see them, we have to protect everyone! Besides, it's not like we can see one and _not_ fight it." Before InuYasha could reply, he was interrupted by the sound of approaching voices.

"Hey, are you sure it's this way?"

"Of course, you idiot. You can sense their reiatsu, can't you?"

"Shut up! You know I've never been good at that!"

"That's because you're an idiot!"

"Both of you, be quiet!" _Whack. Whack. _

"Geez, Taichou, you didn't have to _hit_ them."

"They were annoying me."

InuYasha and his friends looked on in bewilderment as the bushes in front of them began to rustle, and out popped four people, all wearing black outfits; there was an even number of men and women, and one member of each sex had a large bump on their head. They were certainly an odd bunch: One of the boys was extremely short and had snow-white hair, while the other had a mop of bright orange on his head. While the girls had relatively normal hair colors (aside from one, who had strawberry-blonde), the taller of the two had extremely large assets, while the final member of the group looked pretty normal with her short, black hair. She was one of the lucky ones to have a bump on her head; her partner in crime was the guy with orange hair.

"Who the hell are you?" InuYasha asked bluntly, placing a hand on the hilt of his Tetsusaiga. He never was good at being patient. The newcomers exchanged glances; well, three of them did. The short one seemed to be very annoyed at everything and wasn't paying that much attention.

"Alright, they can see us. That's a good start," the girl with black hair said. "But their reiatsu isn't very high. It's amazing that they've survived this long. I'm not sure if the guy with the dog ears even _has_ any. I sense something else from him, though. Maybe that's why he can see us."

"Hello? I'm talking to you over here!" InuYasha interrupted, drawing his sword and pointing it at them. The orange-haired boy whistled. "Dang, that's one big-ass sword." InuYasha's eyebrow twitched; he was clearly annoyed with their 'Oh, look, a big sword' reactions.

"Would you all shut up and tell them why we're here before they try to kill us?" The white-haired boy said, speaking for the first time since their arrival. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have noticed the small drop in temperature that occurred while he spoke. Annoyed, he turned to face the group in front of him.

"Ignore them," he began. He looked at InuYasha. "Please put that thing away. We're not here to fight." Grumbling, InuYasha did as he was told, muttered something about 'little brats'. The boy raised an eyebrow, which was twitching uncontrollably. "And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call me such names. I'll have you know that I've lived a lot longer than any of you." He shot a small glance at the hanyou, who was about to protest. "Yes, even you. Trust me. Now, Matsumoto," he said, looking at the strawberry-blonde behind him, "if you would tell them why we're here…?"

"Sure thing, Taichou," the girl, Matsumoto, said, walking to stand beside him. She cleared her throat, and then began. "Hello, residents of the Sengoku Jidai. We are the Shinigami sent from Soul Society to help with the Hollow problem!" This was greeted buy a bunch of blank stares, all which said 'What the hell is she talking about?'

"Matsumoto, you do realize they have no idea what you're talking about, right?" The white-haired boy said, sighing once again. Matsumoto put a finger to her chin in thought. "I suppose you're right."

"Let me handle this," the black-haired girl said, whipping out some paper and colored pencils. The orange-haired boy slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh, come on, Rukia! Not the drawings again!"

"Shut up, Ichigo! It worked when I explained things to you, didn't it?" She turned back to her paper and began drawing; when she finished, she held up the sheet. "Alright, so let's start with the basics." She pointed to a large circle on the right side of the paper. "This is Soul Society. It's basically what you humans refer to as Heaven. This," she pointed to a square on the left side of the paper, "is Earth, where you live."

"Why is it a square?" Ichigo asked, causing Rukia to throw a colored pencil at his head.

"Shut up! Now, as I was saying, this is Earth. When a soul dies, we Shinigami send it to Soul Society. However, sometimes they are unable to be purified, and they turn into Hollows, or evil spirits." She pointed to two chibi bunnies, one white and one black. "The Hollows appear as monsters with white masks. Our job is to purify their soul and send them to Soul Society as well."

"You really like bunnies, don't you?" _Whack._ Another colored pencil was thrown, hitting Ichigo between the eyes.

"So, does anyone have any questions?" Rukia said, smiling brightly. InuYasha blinked a couple of times. "Yeah. What's with the crappy drawings?" Rukia scowled and threw a pencil at his head as well; her aim was surprisingly good, and the flying projectile hit his nose. It took Kagome a few minutes to convince him not to kill anyone.

"I have a question," Miroku said once the hanyou had calmed down. "Earlier, you were talking about something called 'reiatsu'. You said we all have it, but we don't even know what that is."

"Ah, good question!" Rukia said as she began to draw again. "Oh, no you don't!" Ichigo said, attempting to grab the colored pencil out of her hand. Soon the two were wrestling on the ground for possession of the writing utensil. Ichigo looked up at the white-haired boy, saying, "Hey, Toushirou! Tell Rukia to stop drawing her stupid pictures!"

A small vein throbbed on the boy's head. "How many times do I have to tell you, Kurosaki, it's Hitsugaya," he said, knowing full well that it wouldn't do any good. He might as well have been talking to a pole. After sending a quick glare at the two on the ground (who were being poked with a stick by Matsumoto), he turned back to his audience. "Looks like I'm taking over the explanation." He sighed before continuing.

"Reiatsu is how we refer to our spirit energy," he began. "In this time, I believe it's what your monks and priestesses have, correct? This energy is not only what allows normal humans such as yourselves to see the hollows, but fight them as well. I'm sure you've noticed that, while many in this era can see them, most who try to fight are killed. This is because their reiatsu is extremely low, and they can only use it to a certain extent."

"Then why can we fight them?" Kagome asked. "I mean, it's not like we know what we're doing with this reiatsu stuff."

"For unknown reasons, all of you have abnormally high amounts of reiatsu," Hitsugaya replied. "Even though you don't know how to use it, there's still enough for you to fight without running the risk of being killed instantly."

"But that girl, Rukia I believe, was saying how our levels of reiatsu weren't very high," Miroku pointed out.

"Compared to that of a Shinigami, it's not," Rukia said, standing triumphantly on Ichigo's head. "It's a lot higher than more humans', but to us it's not much at all. You're just lucky you haven't run into any really strong ones, or you'd all be dead."

_So what the hell have we been fighting?_ InuYasha wondered. "Ok, so we all have this reiatsu stuff. Why is it that these Hollow things haven't shown up before now?"

The Shinigami exchanged glances. They knew it was most likely because of Aizen Sousuke, the traitorous former Fifth Division captain. They didn't know what purpose it served for his overall goal, but they figured he was sending the Hollows to somehow alter the past. To explain his history and his current objective would take too much time, however, and that was one thing they didn't have.

"We don't know," Hitsugaya said finally. "It might be due to the fact that you're all developing your reiatsu, whether you're aware of it or not. And not just you; there are others with a large amount of reiatsu as well, though not as large as yours. As such, we aren't able to locate them at this time." This explanation was partly true. As Hitsugaya spoke, he quickly analyzed their reiatsu levels: Kagome had a rather large amount; Miroku also had a lot, though not quite as much as her; InuYasha and Shippo, though it wasn't necessarily reiatsu they possessed, each had a fair amount of something else that allowed them to see the Hollows; finally, his eyes settled on Sango.

_She has a very low amount of reiatsu,_ Hitsugaya thought. _Maybe as much as that Tatsuki girl back on Earth; while she can see us, I'm sure she had trouble seeing most Hollows. But she has potential…possibly more than her friends. _He had to smile. Perhaps coming to Earth wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

* * *

As you can probably tell, the main pairing will be Hitsugaya and Sango. Don't worry; the other pairings will get lots of time too! There's just one problem: I still need to pair Matsumoto and InuYasha with someone. I thought about putting them together, but that would just be weird. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated; feel free to request someone who's still in Soul Society, and I'll just bring them in. Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you would review; this is my first crossover and I'd love to know whether I should continue it or not. Thanks for reading!


	2. Demons and Hollows

Wow, the amount of positive feedback I got for the first chapter was amazing! I'm glad so many people are supportive of this idea. Requests for pairings are still open; the only suggestion I got was to put Matsumoto with Koga and bring Hinamori in to be with InuYasha. This actually isn't a bad idea, but then again, I'm not the one reading this; you are, so tell me what you think!

Once again, thank you so much to all who reviewed.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach, InuYasha, or any related characters. Seriously, would you really want to see these pairings in the actual shows?

* * *

Miroku looked at the strange beings in front of him, his mind still digesting everything he had heard. He wasn't sure what to make of it all. It wasn't that he didn't believe them, exactly; he just had a hard time adjusting to the concept of Shinigami and Hollows. His gaze wandered to Hitsugaya, the Death God that had done most of the explaining. His eyes narrowed as he noticed what the white-haired boy was staring at; or rather, _who_ he was staring at, since his eyes were intently fixed on Sango.

_Well, two can play at that game, _the monk thought as he stood and began to walk over to the Shinigami.

"Oi, Rukia, would you _get off my head?_" Ichigo yelled up at the black-haired girl whose foot was pushing his head further into the ground. During the explanation of why the Shinigami had come to the Sengoku Jidai, Rukia had either forgotten what she was standing on, or was just having too much fun annoying the orange-headed Shinigami Representative. Most likely the latter.

Rukia looked down. "Oh, sorry," she said, taking her sweet time in removing her foot. "I forgot you were down there."

"Why you..."

"Ahem," Miroku said, approaching Rukia. He now had the attention of everyone in the area, Shinigami, humans, and demons alike. Rukia blinked. "Yes?" She was answered with the sudden grasp of her hands by the monk, who was now down on one knee. "Would you consider bearing my child?"

Silence swept the area as all present just stared at the strange scene in front of them. Rukia blinked again, once, then twice, before turning to Ichigo. "What does he mean, Ichigo?" she asked, confused. "How does one bear a child? We don't have to worry about that in Soul Society, do we?"

Miroku sweatdropped, but didn't give up; instead he stood back up and walked over to Matsumoto, repeating the proceedure. There was more silence, but this one didn't last long.

"You pervert!" Sango yelled, appearing behind him and leaving a large bump on his head with her Hiraikotsu. She was surprised to find that she wasn't the only one attacking the monk: there was soon another bump to match the first where Hitsugaya had whacked him with his fist, muttering "Idiot" under his breath. Matsumoto just laughed. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm already dead, so I don't think it would work."

"Don't encourage him, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya sighed as Sango dragged the perverted monk back to the rocks they were sitting on. The Taijiya had a scary look on her face that caused Miroku to flinch when she glared at him. "Seriously, Miroku!" she said, sounding just as mad as she looked. "They come here to help us, and you just _had_ to be your usual perverted self. What were you thinking?"

"But Sango," Miroku whined as his captor ceased dragging him over the ground. "You know I can't help it! Besides, how was I supposed to know they were already dead?"

"That's not the point!" Sango yelled. "Besides, it should have been obvious! They're _Death Gods!_"

"But that doesn't necessarily mean they're dead…"

"Ahem." The two stopped arguing as Hitsugaya cleared his throat. "If you two are done, may we continue?" Both turned a light shade of red as they nodded, noticing that the temperature seemed to have dropped a little.

"As I was saying," Hitsugaya continued, his eyebrow twitching slightly, "we're not entirely sure about the cause of the sudden Hollow appearance. That's why we're here. We need to find out why they're here, and who's behind it. So, as of now, we will be traveling with you."

"What the hell? You never mentioned anything about that!" InuYasha protested. "Besides, you guys are trained to fight those things, right? It doesn't seem like you'd need _our_ help."

"We don't," Hitsugaya replied flatly. "But, as we mentioned earlier, all of you have abnormal amounts of reiatsu. That means that whether we're with you or not, they will keep coming after you. At your current level, you will be no match for any of the stronger ones. Which is why we are going to teach you all how to use your reiatsu to your advantage when fighting them."

"Teach…us?" Kagome said as she and her friends exchanged glances.

"Yup!" Matsumoto said, stepping up beside Hitsugaya. "Oh, but Taichou, we have a problem. Including the cute little kitsune, there's five of them and only four of us. I thought we were each going to teach one!"

"We can always call for someone else if we need to," Hitsugaya replied. "In the mean time, I suppose one of us can just help two at once." _It can't be that hard to instruct someone how to properly use their reiatsu,_ he thought, though he had never actually done it before.

"Um," Kagome said after a moment, "maybe we should get to know each other a little more first. I mean, Matsumoto-san said that you were going to teach us one-on-one, right? I just thought that before we did that, we should at least spend a little time together first. You don't even know our names, do you?"

"Yes, learning their names sounds like a great idea!" Ichigo said, grateful for the chance to get away from Rukia for a moment. Ever since she had been asked by Miroku, she wouldn't stop bugging him on the proper ways to bear a child on Earth. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly a subject that Ichigo was comfortable with.

So the group introduced themselves: First Kagome, then InuYasha, Shippo, Miroku, and finally Sango. "And this is Kirara," she finished, gesturing to the small feline beside her. "She's so cute!" Matsumoto squealed, running over and picking the neko up. Kirara mewed softly as the Shinigami pressed her gently against her face. "Isn't she adorable, Taichou?" Hitsugaya just grunted.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you call him 'Taichou'?" Sango asked, reaching out and taking Kirara back. Matsumoto looked at her as if that were the most obvious question in the world, then laughed. "I guess we never explained that, did we? In Soul Society, there are thirteen different divisions. The members in each one are ranked according to strength. Hitsugaya-taichou is the captain of the Tenth Division, and I'm the vice-captain. Rukia over there is in the Thirteenth Division. Since Kurosaki isn't dead yet, he's only a Shinigami Representative and isn't in a division."

Everyone shot Hitsugaya a look that said, "_He's_ a captain?" The tensai glared back. "Don't even say it," he said, which stopped any comments that the others were sure to say. He seemed about to say something more, but was stopped by a loud _ROAR_ echoing throughout the forest.

"What was that?" InuYasha asked, instinctively drawing his Tetsusaiga. Hitsugaya looked at him. "Don't bother," he said, reaching to his own sword on his back and placing and hand on the hilt. "It's a Hollow. Leave this to me."

"Taichou, you really don't have to," Matsumoto said. "I'll take care of it. There's no need for you too." Hitsugaya sighed. "Thanks, Matsumoto, but I'm in the mood to do it myself." As he said this, the Hollow burst into the clearing. Along with its traditional white mask, this one had a large white shell on its back that was covering in spikes.

The small captain took a step forward before leaping into the air, headed straight for the creature. The Hollow let out another cry and shot multiple spikes at him, which he easily dodged with superhuman speed. As he got closer, he pulled the sword from its sheath. "Descend upon the frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!" There was a flash of blue, and the Hollow was gone. Hitsugaya landed gracefully on the ground, Hyourinmaru already back in its sheath.

The group stared in awe. "That was…amazing," Kagome said, breaking the silence. "So that's a captain's strength?" Hitsugaya gave a slight nod. "Of course, that was a weak one. It seems as though the stronger ones haven't appeared here yet." He turned to look at them. "So, anyone have any objections to us traveling with you?" Everyone shook their heads, InuYasha muttering, "Whatever."

"Well, now that that's settled," Hitsugaya turned to look at his comrades. "Matsumoto, what are Kurosaki and Kuchiki arguing about?"

----------

The Shinigami had never fought demons before.

When the first one had attacked, the group was startled, to say the least. It had been a large snake demon with venom visibly dripping from its large fangs. "Why doesn't it have a mask?" Rukia had asked, confused. InuYasha had jumped up and defeated it with one swing of his Tetsusaiga, a smirk on his face.

"That was a demon," Kagome said, answering their blank stares. "I guess they're kind of similar to Hollows, only they're not dead and don't have masks. Shippo and Kirara are demons, and InuYasha is a half-demon. It looks like we all have our strengths and weaknesses, huh?"

The Death Gods soon found out that their Zanpakutos were almost completely ineffective against them. The Soul Slayers, as their name implied, were normally used to purify souls and send them to Soul Society; their power was not supposed to be used against living creatures. When Matsumoto had attacked one, Haineko drawn, the sword had only bounced off and she had been hit with the demon's large claws. In a sword's Shikai or Bankai form, it would surely do at least some damage, but in its normal stage the Zanpakuto wasn't very effective at all. This left InuYasha and his friends to take care of the youkai, while the Shinigami dealt with the Hollows.

It soon became clear that, in order to be able to fight the Hollows, special training was indeed necessary for the humans and demons. Despite Hitsugaya's warnings, InuYasha had tried to fight one of them using his Tetsusaiga. The wound he had received had bled for ten minutes straight before finally stopping. Miroku's Wind Tunnel, while it had impressed the Shinigami, had only managed to suck up rocks and other such debris instead of the actual Hollow. Kagome had been too busy tending to InuYasha to shoot an arrow, and Sango could barely _see_ the Hollow, let alone attack it. In the end, it had been Ichigo who had defeated it.

"Next time, leave the Hollows to us, got it?" Ichigo said as he put his sword back on his back. InuYasha snorted. "Yeah, same goes for you and the demons," he replied. The two then proceeded to glare at each other until Kagome had yelled, "Sit!" and sent the hanyou crashing into the ground.

Rukia smirked. "I wish I had one of those necklaces," she said after Kagome explained how she was able to 'sit' InuYasha. She shot a sideways glance at Ichigo as she said this, smiling evilly. "What the hell do you mean by that?" The Shinigami Representative asked, glaring back at her.

Sango sighed, watching two different arguments: the one between Ichigo and Rukia as well as InuYasha and Kagome yelling back and forth about why Kagome had told him to sit. She stood up, grabbing a water container. "I'm going to go get some water," she said to no one in particular as she began to walk away. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Miroku talking with Matsumoto (about what, she didn't want to know), and Shippo was playing with Kirara. The only other one who wasn't doing something was…

"You shouldn't go alone," Hitsugaya said, suddenly appearing beside her. "You know, in case a Hollow attacks. I'll go with you." With his arms folded across his chest, he began walking in the direction of a nearby stream.

"Thanks," Sango said, jogging a little to catch up with him. Even walking, the Shinigami was fast. They walked in silence for awhile before Hitsugaya spoke. "You have a hard time seeing Hollows, don't you?"

Startled by the question, Sango was silent for awhile before answering. "Yes," she said quietly. "I can't see them as well as my friends can, and I usually just get in the way during battle because of it." She placed a hand on her Hiraikotsu. "I'm a demon slayer, not a Hollow slayer. Most of the time my weapon isn't even effective against them." They had reached the stream now, and Sango bent down and placed the container in the rushing water. She gave her companion a small smile. "Sorry for ranting like this, especially to someone I hardly know."

"It's fine," Hitsugaya grunted, uncrossing his arms and letting them hang by his side. "I'm the one who asked, aren't I? Actually, you're a lot like Kurosaki, in the way that you have a lot of reiatsu for being a normal human." When Sango looked surprised, he continued. "I must admit, at first it seemed as if you had almost none at all. But you actually have a lot of potential."

"I doubt that," the Taijiya said softly, lifting the container from the stream. "There's no way I could have that kind of ability. I wasn't even strong enough to save my family…" Her voice trailed off; she hadn't meant to say the last part out loud. Before Hitsugaya could ask what she meant, however, there was a loud whizzing sound behind them; a second later, Sango dropped the container as a sudden pain spread throughout her hand.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

"Sorry, sweetie. I'm already dead, so I don't think it would work." Matsumoto's line towards the beginning of the chapter was a bit out of character, I'll admit. During recent manga chapters, she had made it clear that she doesn't take anyone being a pervert around her (especially when it comes to her breasts). I'm also pretty sure that, no matter how dense Rukia is when it comes to the Living World, she would probably know how to bear a child. Still, for humor purposes, they're a little OOC. I'll try my best to keep all the character's personalities in check, though sometimes little things like this will pop up.

* * *

Sorry, it got a little angsty at the end. Still, I kind of like how it turned out. A little longer than the first one, I think; in the next few chapters, I think I'll try to strengthen the relationship between my 'pairings'. Just as a quick note, just because I pair two people together doesn't mean there's going to be a bunch of mushy stuff between them. I know that will disappoint some of you, but that's just not how I write. Once again, requests are still open for other pairings, though not for much longer. Thanks again to all those who reviewed the first chapter. I hope I get more this chapter, since they help encourage me to get the next one out. Also, be warned that if I do bring Hinamori in, there will be some manga spoilers regarding her and Aizen, whenever I decide to bring him in. 


	3. Splitting up

I'm really sorry about the delay of this chapter. I'll try to get better at that! Also, if I don't get any other suggestions on who to pair InuYasha with, then Hinamori is coming in the next chapter. So if you have any other ideas, please let me know!

**Disclaimer: **Bleach belongs to Kubo-sensei and InuYasha belongs to Takahashi-sensei. I, sadly, and neither one of them.

* * *

Sango looked down at her hand, which was throbbing and hurting at the same time. There was a small object resembling a needle embedded in the skin; she quickly pulled in out, wincing slightly at the pain it caused. A small trickle of blood came from the wound, but it didn't appear too serious. So why was it hurting so bad? 

"Hey, what happened?" Hitsugaya asked, bending down next to the Taijiya to look at her hand. She held up the needle. "It's from a demon," she said, standing up and grabbing the weapon off her back. "It must be watching us." Her eyes scanned the surrounding bushes and trees for any sign of movement; seeing a slight rustle in one of the bushes, she threw her Hiraikotsu. "There you are!"

A giant scorpion demon came lunging out of the trees, which had just barely been large enough to conceal it. Sango caught her weapon as it returned to her, barely missing the demon on its return trip. Beside her, Hitsugaya stood up from his kneeling position, a hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto. The demon spit a type of acid from his mouth towards the Shinigami, who was still in the process of standing up and couldn't dodge it in time. Before it hit, however, Sango stepped in front of him and blocked it with her Hiraikotsu. "Be careful, it's poisonous."

"I don't need to be told to be careful," Hitsugaya retorted, taking his sword from its sheath. Sango was about to say something back when a new surge of pain ran through her hand, making her stop. _Maybe I should have told him…_she thought, glancing at the needle, which she had dropped on the ground. The demon lunged at them, and they both jumped out of the way. _No, that's not important. Right now, we have to focus on defeating this thing!_

"Attack spell number forty-seven: Strike of Violet Wind!"

Sango looked to see the small captain with his hand outstretched, a swirl of color forming in front of it. Moments later it was released, and a violet gust of sparkling wind hit the demon head-on. The youkai was pushed back a bit, momentarily stunned from the impact. It was all the time the Taijiya needed. She threw her Hiraikotsu as hard as she could, cutting the demon in half.

Hitsugaya put his unused Zanpakuto back in its sheath, secretly impressed with Sango's fighting skills. _For an ordinary human, she's not half bad…_ he thought, eyeing her as she caught her weapon and placed it back on her back. Then he noticed something. "Hey, are you alright? Your face is all red."

Sango turned to him. "Yeah…" she muttered, swaying slightly as she took a step forward; then, without warning, she collapsed. Hitsugaya ran over and caught her before she hit the ground, noticing upon further inspection that her face was covered in beads of sweat. Confused, he shifted his gaze to the discarded needle, only to find a drop of green liquid on the tip. "Poison."

He cursed silently to himself. "Why the hell didn't she tell me?" he yelled to the wind. "She must have noticed it. She shouldn't have been fighting, either; that probably made it worse!" He managed to get Sango on his back, which was hard considering their difference in size, and began to carry her piggy-back towards their friends.

----------

"Sango and Hitsugaya sure have been gone a long time…" Kagome said, leaning back against a tree and sighing. "They were only going to get water, after all." She stretched, thinking about how she could really use a hot bath to soak her aching back.

"Relax," InuYasha said, stretching as well. "Sango can easily take care of herself; she's a demon slayer, after all. And that brat is pretty strong, too."

"Who's a brat?" Hitsugaya growled, stepping into the clearing, the unconscious Sango on his back. Kagome gasped. "What happened?" she asked, running over to help get her off the captain's back. Hitsugaya reached into his pocket and brought out the needle. "She was hit with this. I'm pretty sure there was poison on it."

"Hey, you have those weird medicines from your world, right?" InuYasha said, rising form where he had been sitting. "You can easily cure her with those, can't you?" Kagome nodded, then slapped her hand to her forehead. "I just remembered! I left it at the well after I came back a few days ago."

"What!"

"That's when we were attacked by that Hollow, and then they came!" Kagome explained, gesturing to the Shinigami. "I must have forgotten it, what with everything going on. I'll have to go get it. If I take Kirara, it shouldn't take too long."

"Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said, turning to look at the orange-haired boy. "Go with her." Ichigo instantly began to protest. "Why me?" he whined, quite comfortable lying down on the grass. The captain folded his arms across his chest. "Because she obviously can't go alone, idiot."

"Stop arguing. I'll go with her," InuYasha offered. "I can run just as fast as Kirara. It'll be a lot easier." Hitsugaya shook his head. "If we're going to split up, there has to be at least one Shinigami and one human in each group. That way, you'll be safe no matter what kind of enemy you run into."

"He's right," Kagome said, grabbing her bow and arrows and climbing onto the newly transformed Kirara. "Besides, this is no time to be arguing. We have to go before Sango's condition gets any worse."

Reluctantly, Ichigo agreed, at the two set off towards the Bone Eater's Well. Miroku watched them for a moment before standing as well. "I remember seeing some medicinal herbs along the way here. They may not be as effective as Kagome's medicine, but they should work until she gets back."

"Matsumoto…" Hitsugaya began, but was cut off by a sharp look from the vice-captain. "Taichou," she hissed, bending down to whisper in his ear. "If you make me go with that pervert, I can assure that he won't be coming back." Recalling the event from when they first arrived, the captain nodded in agreement. He began to regret his decision to send Ichigo off with Kagome. There was only one choice left…

"Kuchiki, would you go with him?" As much as Hitsugaya hated to send Rukia off with Miroku, he knew that the monk had the most chance of coming back alive if he was with her. Of course, he had seen her behavior with the Shinigami Representative, so he wasn't completely sure of his choice, but there really was no other option. Eyeing the monk nervously, Rukia nodded, and soon they were gone as well. This left InuYasha, Matsumoto, and Hitsugaya to watch over the sleeping Sango.

----------

"Hey, watch out!" Kagome said, reaching out and grabbing Ichigo's arm. "You'll fall if you keep doing that!" Ichigo pulled his arm away, scowling. "Well, it's not like I go around riding giant demon cats every day!" he huffed, folding his arms across his chest; he immediately regretted it as Kirara made a sharp turn, almost sending him flying off again. He flailed his arms wildly, trying to get his balance, and grabbed her fur tightly.

Kagome chuckled. "I would think that being a Shinigami and fighting Hollows would prepare you for anything," she said. "Including riding demon cats."

"Well it doesn't."

Kagome frowned. "Hey, lighten up, will you? It's not like I'm making fun of you or anything. I'm just trying to start a conversation." _His attitude is almost as bad as InuYasha's…_ she thought, giving a small sigh.

Ichigo sighed as well. "So I suck at interacting with people. Sue me."

"You seem to get along with Kuchiki-san pretty well," Kagome pointed out. Ichigo's face softened a bit. "Yeah, well, that's because we've known each other for awhile now. Besides, without her, I wouldn't even be a Shinigami."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Really? And why is that?" Ichigo debated whether or not he should tell her, and decided it wouldn't hurt. "She gave me her powers so that I could save my family."

"But she has powers now, doesn't she?" Kagome asked, slightly confused. "If you have them, then how does she have them too?"

"The powers I have now aren't hers; they're mine." Seeing the confused look on her face, he continued. "A lot of…stuff happened, and I lost the powers she had given me. I trained with someone and found that I had my own powers. Rukia did some training in Soul Society as well, and got her powers back."

"I see," Kagome said, smiling. "Kuchiki-san seems like such a kind person, to do all that for you." Ichigo gave a small smile as well. "Yeah…she gave me her powers even though I was a complete stranger to her. I really owe her a lot."

Kagome's smile widened. She was glad to have finally made the orange-haired Shinigami happy.

----------

Rukia and Miroku walked in silence for awhile, neither one knowing what to say. Rukia was still contemplating Miroku's earlier question and wondering just what she would be in for by going with him to look for herbs, while Miroku's thoughts were occupied by Sango. Seeing his depressed expression, Rukia decided to attempt a conversation.

"Are you worried about her?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. After a moment, Miroku nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine. Hitsugaya-taichou and Rangiku-san are with her, as well as InuYasha; I doubt they'd let anything happen to her." She gave Miroku a reassuring smile, which he returned.

"Thank you, Rukia-san," the monk said, reaching a hand out to rub her rear. Rukia turned bright red and punched him, sending him flying about three feet in the air before landing roughly on the ground. "I may not know much about your world, but I know what that means, pervert!" Miroku sighed. "It's the hand; it's possessed, I tell you!"

"Whatever," Rukia huffed, arms crossed over her chest as she began walking again. "We still need to get those herbs, so let's hurry this up. The sooner we get them, the better, for your sake as well as mine."

----------

Matsumoto draped a wet cloth over Sango's forehead, replacing the previous one. She sighed as she stood to go dip the old rag into the nearby stream, leaving the two boys alone. The clearing was quiet, the only sound coming from the Taijiya's harsh breathing.

"It's not your fault, you know," InuYasha said, breaking the silence. Hitsugaya looked at him. "I never said it was," Hitsugaya huffed, his arm draped over his knee as he looked out into the distance. "It's her own fault for not saying anything about it, even though she knew there was poison on the needle."

They were quiet for a moment before InuYasha asked, "Why can't she see those Hollow things that well? Does she not have much of that reiatsu stuff?" He looked at the Shinigami expectantly, waiting for an answer. Hitsugaya hesitated. "It's kind of complicated," he said after a minute. "It's not that she doesn't have the reiatsu; it's more like it hasn't awakened. It's kind of like how Kurosaki was at first. He had a lot of spiritual power, but he only gained the full power of his abilities after Kuchiki gave him her powers. It's a long story," he added when he say InuYasha's confused look. "In any case, I think she just needs some time for her powers to really kick in."

He seemed about to say more when Matsumoto burst into the clearing. "Taichou! We have a problem! There's both a Hollow and a demon coming this way!"

* * *

I seem to like leaving cliffhangers, don't I? Hehe, I'm just evil like that. But you do know that reviews inspire me to write faster, don't you? -hint hint- Anyway, like I said, I'll probably bring Hinamori in the next chapter if I don't get any other ideas, so if you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it! And the other pairings got a little time in this chapter too. Aren't you lucky? 

Ja ne!


	4. Recovery and Alliance

Well, here's chapter four! Sorry for the delay. Oh, and Shippo just kinda…disappeared. He's mentioned a couple times in this chapter, but he's not really going to play a big part…or any part, really…Sorry to anyone who's a big Shippo fan! Also, Hinamori comes! Well, sort of. She's mention at the end, and will officially make an appearance in the next chapter. To make up for not having her in here yet, though, we get to see a very strange combination of villains. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** If you really think I own Bleach or InuYasha, you have serious problems.

* * *

"There's both a Hollow and a demon coming this way!"

Hitsugaya cursed his luck as his vice-captain ran over to him. "The Hollow doesn't appear to be particularly strong," Matsumoto continued, "but I couldn't judge the demon's strength."

"And why did you lead them _here_, Matsumoto?" The icy captain asked, gesturing to Sango with a quick nod of his head. The strawberry-blonde shifted her weight from one foot to another nervously. "Well, I could have defeated the Hollow, but, well, with the demon and all…and I just thought you should know…" Hitsugaya sighed. "Yes, yes, I got it. InuYasha, do you think you could take care of the demon?"

The hanyou folded his arms across his chest as he stood up. "I guess I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" he muttered, drawing his Tetsusaiga as the creatures burst into the clearing. The demon was a large spider demon with large pincers near its mouth; the Hollow looked like any ordinary one of its kind, with nothing special about it aside from the large horn on its head.

"Die, bastard!" InuYasha yelled, jumping towards the demon and bringing his blade down in the process. The spider moved so that it only had one of its legs cut off; it began roaring in pain as it stumbled backward. "What's the big deal?" the hanyou asked with a smirk. "You got eight of 'em!"

Meanwhile, Matsumoto had also begun her attack. Hitsugaya started to follow but stopped when Sango let out a soft moan. Turning to look at the Taijiya, he sighed as he realized that he had to stay behind and protect her. He released the grip on his Zanpakuto and begrudgingly plopped down on a rock to watch the battle.

----------

"What? It's gone!"

Kagome stood near the Bone Eater's Well, staring at the spot where her backpack used to be. "I know I left it right here! I wonder what happened to it…"

"Maybe some demon or something ate it," Ichigo suggested, leaning against a tree. He nearly fell over when he received a fierce glare from Kagome. "Erm, or not…" Kagome continued to glare at him for a moment, then sighed. "Poor Sango…I hope she's alright…"

"I'm sure she's fine," Ichigo assured her. "I mean, the brat's with her, and so is your demon friend. They won't let anything happen to her." Kagome gave him a small smile. "I guess…Thanks, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo scratched his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, well, we should get back to the others and see if there's anything we can do. You know, even without your medicine. Why do you have such modern stuff anyway?"

"I'm from the future…Or, I guess in your case, the present," Kagome explained as they climbed back on Kirara. "I can travel back in time through the well. How did you guys get here, anyway?"

"Who knows?" Ichigo replied, shrugging. "I think Soul Society had some sort of device that let us come here. Waah!" Kagome reached out and grabbed his arm before he fell off Kirara, who had just taken off. "Did I ever mention that I hate flying on this thing?"

----------

"What is going on here?"

Miroku stood clutching the herbs that he and Rukia had collected, the female Shinigami standing beside him. Across from them stood a Hollow – with a swarm of large insects swarming around them. "What are the Saimyosho doing here?"

"Saim-what?" Rukia said, giving the monk a confused look. "What are those things?" As she spoke, she placed a hand on her Zanpakuto, but waited for Miroku's explanation before she jumped into an attack. "They're poisonous insects," he began. "When they're around, I can't use my Kazaana or else I'll absorb the poison." He was about to continue when the Hollow lunged at them.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia yelled, drawing her sword from its sheath. The blade turned white and a ribbon of the same color formed from the hilt. Miroku watched in awe, realizing that he had never seen the female Shinigami use her Zanpakuto before; until now, it had seemed that her companions had been doing most of the fighting. He couldn't help but notice how…beautiful the white blade looked in the blazing sunlight.

"Some no Mai, Tsukishirou!" At this, a circle appeared on the ground around the Hollow; a moment later a light shot up towards the sky from the circle, enveloping the creature and freezing it. When it was completely frozen, she jumped at it and slashed it with her Zanpakuto, destroying it.

"That was…amazing," Miroku said as Rukia landed gracefully on the ground, sheathing her sword. She gave a small smile before looking around. "Hey…those bugs are gone." Miroku looked, and sure enough, the Saimyosho were nowhere to be found.

----------

"Hmm, those bugs worked very well, Naraku. The monk didn't use his pesky Kazaana, just as you said. That thing could be very troublesome for my poor Hollows."

"Yes, they are quite useful," Naraku said, turning his gaze away from Kanna's mirror to look at his companion. "Although if I'm not mistaken, all of your precious Hollows have been defeated so far." The images in the mirror shifted so that now it was focused on Hitsugaya's group.

"Ah, but so have your demons," his companion pointed out, a small smile on his face. "But no matter. It will all be worth it in time."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Naraku chuckled. "Still, I don't know why you've taken an interest in her of all people. If anyone, I would say to go after Kagome, since she's an annoying little pest and needs to be taken care of."

"I have my reasons," the figure beside him replied, gazing intently at the battle going on in the mirror. "And it appears that the little brat of a captain has started to figure her abilities out as well. After all, he's being so…protective of her." As he spoke, Hitsugaya jumped in front of the sleeping Sango and attacked the Hollow that had been approaching her, while Shippo ran around yelling random things.

"And of course, this will be beneficial to you as well," he continued. "While they're busy worrying about her, it will be easy for you to take care of the pesky hanyou. Everybody wins."

"Except for them, of course," Naraku added, watching as the demon was destroyed by InuYasha and the Hollow by Hitsugaya. "This should be interesting…Aizen."

----------

_Sango was walking along the beach, the wind blowing through her hair and sand squishing between her toes. Staring up at the sky, she felt a small rain drop land on her nose. _"That's odd…there aren't any clouds in the sky…" _she thought as she stopped, gazing at the blazing sun. "Hey, Kohaku, did you feel that?" she asked, turning to her brother. "I think it's raining." _

_Kohaku smiled. "That's wasn't rain, Big Sister. That was blood." Sango's eyes widened as he continued. "That's the blood of Father and all the others that you failed to save. Father, me, our comrades…We all died right in front of you, and you couldn't do a thing to stop it. But Naraku brought me back with the Jewel shard, so that I could live. And now I'm going to kill you, Big Sister, since you let me die."_

_Sango felt a sharp pain in her back as blood began spilling from the scar she had first gotten from her brother. Kohaku was now behind her, still smiling. "Now we can go together, Big Sister," he said, reaching behind him and reaching into his back for the Jewel shard that sustained his life._

"_No, Kohaku! Stop!" Sango yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. Kohaku only smiled. "It's too late. Goodbye, Sister."_

"Kohaku!" Sango sat straight up, panting heavily. Realizing it was only a dream, she looked around and saw that it was night, and everyone else was sleeping: Shinigami, demon, and human alike. She noticed that her head hurt, and it took her a moment to remember what had happened.

"So, you're finally awake?" Sango jumped and spun around to see Hitsugaya staring at her. "H-Hitsugaya-kun, I thought you were asleep…" The icy captain sighed. "Someone had to stay awake and watch after you, you know." Sango turned slightly red and looked down at the ground. "Right…"

"These herbs that the monk and Kuchiki gathered work pretty well," he said, holding up a few leaves that were left over. They were silent for a moment before he continued. "Why the hell didn't you tell me there was poison on the needle?"

"I was a little busy fighting at the time!" Sango snapped, then gasped softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean that…I don't know where it came from…" Hitsugaya cut her off. "Whatever. Just go back to sleep. I highly doubt that you're fully recovered, and we still need to train you to fight Hollows." Sango nodded and lied down on the ground, having flashbacks of her dream before falling asleep.

----------

"Are you sure you're alright now, Sango?" Kagome asked the next morning. The Taijiya smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, Kagome," she replied, though she still felt a little…strange. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something still didn't feel right. She decided to shrug it off, however, seeing as how she had already delayed her friends enough.

"Well then, today we will start your training," Hitsugaya said, coming up behind her. He turned to address everyone. "Kurosaki, you'll be with Kagome; Kuchiki, you'll be with the monk, since you're already acquainted. Matsumoto, you'll train InuYasha and the small demon. And you," he looked at Sango, "will be training with me. Got it?" Everyone nodded, not wanting to argue with the small captain. "Good. Now begin." Everyone got with their respective partners, and the training session began.

"So, what are we doing exactly?" InuYasha, who had a puzzled expression on his face, asked. "Well, Taichou said that the best way for you guys to fight the Hollows is to learn kidou!" Matsumoto replied, smiling. The hanyou blinked a couple of time. "Kid-what?" The female Shinigami sighed. "Maybe it'll just be easier if I show you. Destructive Art #27: Blue Fire!" She aimed her outstretched hand towards a tree, which instantly caught fire.

InuYasha stared at the blazing tree. "Right…And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Matsumoto thought a moment, then clapped her hands together. "I know! Try gathering your reiatsu – erm, I mean your demonic energy – together in your hands, forming a ball; like this." She once again held out her hand, this time palm up, and closed her eyes in focus. A moment later, a pink ball of energy formed. InuYasha stared again before asking, "Why is it pink?"

The others were having similar problems, but not as many as Ichigo and Kagome. They stood staring at each other for a moment before Ichigo called out, "Yo, Toushirou! What am I supposed to do?" at which the captain just sighed and walked calmly over to him. "I told you yesterday," he said coldly, "you're supposed to be teaching her kidou." He then walked back over to his partner, but not before looking over his shoulder saying, "And do _not _call me Toushirou!"

He arrived at the waiting Sango, who was sitting on a rock and stroking Kirara gently. "Sorry about that," he said, sounding irritated. "Now, where were we?" He was about to go on when she interrupted him. "Why did you choose to be my partner?"

"Wha?"

"I'm not as strong as the others, right? I already know. It just seems like someone as strong as you would want to train someone more powerful." Sango said this softly while staring intently into his eyes, which narrowed slightly at the statement. "Look, you're-"

"Hey, Toushirou! I just remembered that I never learned kidou!" Hitsugaya cursed under his breath as he glared at the orange-haired teen. "Why didn't you say that earlier? Matsumoto!" A very frustrated-looking vice-captain walked over to him, blowing a stray strand of hair from her face. He cast a sideways glance at the demon-slayer, who had resumed her silent petting of the demon cat. He took Matsumoto off to the side.

"I want you to head back to Soul Society and give this to Mayuri at the Research Facility," he said, taking the poisoned needle from his pocket and handing it to his vice-captain. "The demon slayer has been acting a little weird since she woke up last night, and I want to know what's in this poison. Also," he began hesitantly, "bring Hinamori back with you."

**Footnotes:**

For those of you who haven't read the manga or just forgot, here are the translations for Rukia's Zanpakuto and attack.

Sode no Shirayuki – Sleeve of White Snow

Some no Mai, Tsukishirou – First Dance, White Moon

The initial release of the Zanpakuto is "Mai, Sode no Shirayuki!" Mai literally means 'dance', so I just translated it to make it easier.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I really have no idea how Kagome and the others would address the Shinigami, and vice-versa. So, I'm just kinda making it up. If you think it should be something else, please don't hesitate to tell me. Also, the same goes with the kidou. I don't think anyone really knows how it's learned, but if you have some ideas, I would love to hear them.

* * *

And thus ends chapter four! Things are getting a little more interesting, huh? Please review, as they make me very happy and make me want to update faster. Ja ne! 


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